International children’s court is needed to punish abuses, says global report
Child labour
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Child labourers work in a field in Vietnam鶹APPs northern mountainsPicture: © ILO/Hoang Dinh Chieu
An international children鶹APPs court should be set up to investigate and punish abuses such as child labour, child marriage and child slavery that prevent children from going to school.
That was one of the major recommendations by the headed by Gordon Brown, the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education.
In a hard-hitting report on human rights, the commission also said the UN Security Council should annually review violations of children鶹APPs rights.
A children鶹APPs court would be similar to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which hearscases such as war crimes and genocide. It would have powers to rule on cases reported by children and give legally-binding rulings.
Mr Brown told the UN on April 18:鶹APPWe need, in a sense, a civil rights struggle by and on behalf of children because their rights have been neglected in the international community.鶹APP
The Global Citizenship Commission presents its findings to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on April 18Picture: UN
In a , the UN envoy said children had been overlooked when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was agreed in 1948.
He added: 鶹APPGlobally, 168 million children have no choice but to take up work and 85 million are engaged in hazardous labor.
鶹APPIn addition, nearly 60 million children will never enter a classroom 鶹APP will never find the hope and fulfillment that can come only with an education. And every year, some 10 million school-aged girls are married off and deprived of a future.鶹APP
The commission is made up of political leaders and academics, incuding Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed El Baradei, politician and campaigner Graca Machel and Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum.
Its report 鶹APP 鶹APP also looked beyond children鶹APPs issues and recommended far-reaching measures to reform the UN鶹APPs human rights structures.
The commission also examined the rights of refugees and asylum seekers and said human rights should be part of a 鶹APPglobal ethic鶹APP that includes issues such as the eradication of poverty, responsibility for the planet and climate, and the elimination of weapons of mass destruction.
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